BRENHAM, Texas — Evangelical leaders pursued a last-ditch effort on Saturday to exert influence in the Republican presidential primary race, voting to support the candidacy of Rick Santorum in hopes of undercutting Mitt Romney’s march to the nomination.

A week before the South Carolina primary, a group of more than 100 influential Christian conservatives gathered at a ranch here and voted overwhelmingly to rally behind Mr. Santorum. An organizer described the vote as an “unexpected supermajority,” a decision that was intended to help winnow the Republican field and consolidate the opposition to Mr. Romney.

But the broader effect on the contest is less clear, particularly if the Republican field remains fractured. If the support had come earlier in the primary campaign, before Mr. Romney emerged as the leading candidate to beat, it could have had greater impact. In most surveys, Mr. Romney outpaces his rivals when respondents are asked who has the best chance of defeating President Obama.

Mr. Santorum, who fought Mr. Romney to a draw in the Iowa caucuses and has stirred enough concern in the eyes of a pro-Romney group to warrant a negative television ad in South Carolina, beamed when asked about the endorsement at a campaign stop on Saturday.

“They’ve looked at not just what we’ve been able to accomplish during this primary season so far,” Mr. Santorum told reporters in Mount Pleasant, S.C. “But they’ve looked at the track record of someone that’s been a strong, consistent voice across the board on all the conservative issues.”

Conservatives, after finding success in Congressional elections two years ago, are under significant pressure to reestablish themselves in hopes of blunting the rise of Mr. Romney, who is derisively referred to by his opponents as a “Massachusetts moderate.” They openly question his consistency on social and fiscal conservatism.

Evangelical leaders, along with many other components of the conservative movement, have been fractured over the race, which contributed to Mr. Romney’s success in Iowa and New Hampshire. But with time running short and Mr. Romney holding considerable advantages, the leaders sought to table their divisions and chose, by a wide margin, to support Mr. Santorum over Newt Gingrich or Gov. Rick Perry of Texas.

The extent to which those attending the meeting will be able to mobilize their followers behind Mr. Santorum remains unclear. The group’s vote is not binding on participants and the leaders did not directly ask Mr. Gingrich or Mr. Perry to drop out of the race.

Politics and religion dont mix.These so called pastors should be trying to teach about God not preaching politics.Bunch of haters at the pulpit is not what the bible teaches.

laselva

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January 16, 2012

Happy New Year Libby!

Okay, happy greetings aside, let's get right to the point - FREE MARKET CAPITALISM DOESN'T WORK. In fact in Inc. Magazine we discover that some super rich capitalists are actually trying to destoy the economy for the sheer joy of PROFIT!

And I quote...

If European nations start defaulting, then the U.S. is in a lot of trouble -no matter what Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner say to the contrary. That’s why Bernanke and Geithner are among those doing what they can to make sure this doesn’t happen. But there’s a powerful group that wouldn't mind a default: Hedge funds. They want it for a powerful reason. It’s the only way they’re going to make a profit on all that Greek debt they bought at steep discount. Right now a lot of people and companies who loaned Greece money are resigned to the fact that they are going to get at most 50 percent of their money back. The financial euphemism for this is “taking a haircut.” This haircut will leave more skull than scalp. Greece would still be in financial trouble even if 100 percent of its debt was forgiven. So why then are a bunch of hedge funds insisting they want all their money back?

Because if the debtors don’t voluntarily agree to this haircut, Greece will officially be in default. Once that happens the bond holders can collect all their money – not from the people of Greece, but from the firms which have Credit Default Swaps on all this debt. That is why a bunch of hedge funds have actually been going out and buying as much Greek debt as they can (and believe me, it’s a buyer’s market).

Some of the creeps are listed below: (My words)

Saba Capital Management LP, founded by former Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) credit trader Boaz Weinstein, York Capital Management LP, the $14 billion fund started by Jamie Diman, and London-based CapeView Capital LLP are among managers that now hold Greek bonds. … If Greece refuses to pay the funds what’s owed to them, the funds may seek to trigger the credit-default swaps. The contracts pay the buyer face value in exchange for the underlying securities or the cash equivalent should a borrower fail to adhere to its debt agreements.

The theory is based on the idea that these other entities have the money to pay off the CDSs. They don’t. They have some money and a lot of loans out on bonds and properties of questionable value from other European banks. They will have to call in those loans in order to pay off the CDSs. This will require other banks to call in loans and sell assets in order to pay what they owe. Lather, rinse, repeat until who knows when. Remember 2008 and our barely-averted financial meltdown? Like that, only on an international scale. All so some funds can get the face value of debt they bought at a tremendous discount.